Testing the waters
Page 1 Lyrabeecher :When young Lyra Beecher arrived in Liverpool, she knew exactly what she wanted to do. She didn't bother to find her way to the local Town Hall to find the job postings, like she had in Preston. Here in Liverpool, she wanted to fish. Not knowing or even caring if she'd be any good at it, she headed straight to the waterfront. :Placing her small pack of possessions down on the shore, she slipped off her shoes and stockings and tested the water with her right foot. Ooo, it was a bit chilly but she could handle it. Lyra turned back to her little pack and pulled out a small, makeshift net she'd cobbled together with spare bits of old worn rope. Then she waded in a bit, dipped her little net into the water and waited. Enferen :Enferen had chosen to be part of the town's militia force for the first time in his life. Despite being tied down to his fields, military life held a sort of facination for him, so he thought this was a good start. Besides, if Nic could do the job naked, surely he could... join the militia, that is. His clothes stay on. :So there he was, patrolling the town looking for anything that looked like it could be threatening to the town. The rowdy ones were out of town, so things were incredibly quiet, but he thought he saw someone unfamiliar down by the water. :Getting closer, he noticed a lovely lady wading barefoot with some rope. He decided to investigate further. :"Excuse me, but can I be of assistance?" Lyrabeecher :Lyra had been trying to fish with her odd little net for a few hours with absolutely no luck. Her back was feeling sore and her feet were cold from standing in the water for so long. Plus, after the walk from Preston in the early morn, she was rather tired and her mind was wandering. So, she didn't really hear when the young man spoke to her. :However, as he spoke, Lyra happened to turn and lean back a bit trying to stretch away the stiffness in her back and then she noticed him standing on the shore looking at her. "Oh!" Lyra said, startled, and dropped her net. "Oh dear," and she grabbed it again before the tide pulled it out of reach. :Lyra looked up at the young man on the shore and said with her cheeks slightly flushed, "I'm not sure that I'm doing this right. I've never been fishing before." Wiping her hand off on her skirt, she waded closer to shore and extended her hand to the young man, "My name is Lyra Beecher. I am visiting here from Kendal. I hope I'm not trespassing somewhere that I shouldn't be." Enferen :"Oh, no!' the man with the staff assured the lady. "This is a public fishing area. Anyone can come try their luck. They are tricky to catch, aren't they..." :Enferen looked down at the mess of rope the woman was holding. "Perhaps I can be of help. I participated in the Kendal games some time ago and did fairly well at the rope game they had, so I have some experience knotting rope. May I have a go at trying to improve your net?" Lyrabeecher :"Certainly! I would very much appreciate that," Lyra said as she handed over her rope net. "I'm afraid that I have gotten it rather twisted up." Enferen :Enferen took the rope and tried to spread it out. She wasn't kidding. There was some knotting, besides the knots that were intended. :This could take a while... good thing Liverpool's so quiet. :Leaning his shaft in the crook of one arm, he set about trying to separate the rope. It wasn't as bad as it had looked at first glance and he was soon working to close the larger gaps in the net with secure knots so that it would be less likely for fish to swim through. :"Is this your first time in Liverpool?" he asked the lady, trying to pass the time with small talk while he worked on the net. Lyrabeecher :Lyra watched as he worked on her rope net, hoping to learn something. "Yes, indeed, it is my first time here. I've only recently begun to travel. I'm hoping to find where my parents may be living now, or at least..." Lyra's expression's darkened a bit, "...at least where they may be buried, if they have passed on. I don't suppose you have ever met or heard of any other 'Beecher', have you?" Enferen :Enferen was only half paying attention to Lyra's words as he worked on her net until he heard the word parents. Thinking she must be talking about something of great importance to her, he paused to listen more carefully. :In truth, with all the visitors Liverpool gets it could well be that Enferen has heard something of a Beecher but can't remember if he has. :"I do not believe so. I'm sorry," he finally said. "I hope you are enjoying your stay in our lovely town in the meantime. I'm hoping to start travelling myself once I shut down my pig farm." :He went back to work and after a few more knots spread the net out to inspect the roping. :"There! That should be an improvement anyway. I wouldn't want to put this on a fire, heh!" After seeing the lady's confused expression he added, "The Kendal rope game involved a fire. I can tell you ropes made from hemp emit one heck of a smell when burned..." Miniphoenix :MiniPhoenix arrived in Liverpool carrying all her luggage with her. She was moving from Beeston to Penrith but had decided to move to each town she stopped at along the way. She bought herself a home that she would live in for just two days, then went to look around the town. :Soon enough, MiniPhoenix found herself by the seashore. The salty breeze reminded her of her old home in Southampton. She had not been to Southampton in 2 years. MiniPhoenix took off her shoes and stockings so she could feel the sand on her toes. The cold water splashed on her feet; she shivered. Walking along the beach, she picked up a few seashells. Her favorite a lilac colored one. :Spying two people wading out in the water, she pulled her trousers up a little further and went out to greet them. :"Hello!" MiniPhoenix waved and smiled. "How are you? May I help? I'm MiniPhoenix. I haven't been to Liverpool before, but it looks like the tide is going out. The water has receeded a bit since I first came to the beach a couple hours ago. Perhaps in a few more hours there will be some tide pools with fish stuck in them. I guess with your net, you don't need the tide pools; though, do you? It's a nice net. I never tried my luck at making one. Making a net seemed like a challenge back when I lived in Southampton. How long did it take you to make it?" Lyrabeecher :"Hello," Lyra greeted the woman who had approached. "My name is Lyra. Nice to meet you." Looking down at her net when MiniPhoenix mentioned it, Lyra shrugged a little and answered her question, "I don't know, I guess I did it a little at a time over a couple of weeks once I decided that I'd be traveling here. I finished it up on the trip here, but I don't think I did a very good job. Enferen here has improved it considerably." Miniphoenix :MiniPhoenix noticed that Lyra seemed modest about her net. "Well, if you ask me, ma'am, it's a fine net. They don't have many like that in Southampton." Mini smiled. "So how long are you planning to stay here?" Lyrabeecher :"Well, thank you for the vote of confidence on my net," Lyra said with a slight laugh. As she hadn't actually made detailed plans for her trip, Lyra thought for a moment, "I suppose I'll stay a couple of days fishing. Then I'll probably move on again." Enferen :Enferen perked up. :"Leaving so soon? We love to have visitors in our town so feel perfectly welcome to stay as long as you wish." At this he looked at MiniPhoenix to assure her the comment covered her as well. Then he gazed upon Lyra again. "Unless you have something urgent you must go do?..." Lyrabeecher :"Well, I haven't decided my schedule for sure yet. Besides, even once I do go, I'm sure I'll come back for another visit some day. It's rather pleasant." Enferen :"That's good to hear. We always love having people over from out of town. If there's anything at all you need, don't hesitate to ask any of the locals," Enferen said with a smile. "So... how's the fishing now?" Page 2 Lyrabeecher :Lyra hadn't actually been paying attention to the net as she held it dangling in the water. At Enferen's question, she looked down at it and realized... :"Oh, my! I've caught a fish!" With a big smile, she looked up at Enferen. "I guess I need to figure out how to cook it now. Any suggestions?" Enferen :Resisting the urge to say 'Eating it raw is the Liverpool way', Enferen thought for a moment. :"Pan frying is how I usually do it," he said. "Slow cooking over the fire, letting it simmer in its own juices. I'm told you can add some herbs to it for flavour but I usually don't have any on hand. I figure it just takes away from it tasting like a fish." :He thought for a moment more. "There's also chowder, but I think you need milk for that. I think there's some milk on the market but there's rarely much. With a ready supply of fish in town there isn't much demand for any other 'brain food'." Miniphoenix :"Mini!" :MiniPhoenix swung around at the call of her name. "I'm sorry, I have to go. It was nice meeting you both. I hope we'll meet again." Waving, she went back to shore where someone was calling her name. Lyrabeecher :Holding her captured fish and net in one hand, Lyra waves goodbye to Miniphoenix with the other. "It was nice to meet you too. Safe travels to you!" :Then to Enferen, Lyra says, "Pan frying sounds good to me. Though I don't have any herbs, I do have a little cook pan in my pack." :Lyra walks over to where her things rest on the shore and, after placing the fish and net carefully down, pulls a small, iron fry pan and a small knife out of her pack. Looking between the pan and the fish with a critical eye, she decides, "I think it'll mostly fit, might have to cut it up a bit." Lyra sets down the cooking implements and begins to gather some driftwood to make a small fire. :Glancing at Enferen, Lyra asks, "Care to join me for a bite once I get this cooked up? I feel I owe you something for fixing my net." Enferen :Following Mini's departure Enferen watched Lyra as he started preparing to cook her fresh catch. :She's going to cook it right here and now? he thought in puzzlement. :Thinking of her words, he offered, "You know, I have a proper fireplace at my house. It's... somewhat unusual to have a campfire out here in the open. If we were to head to my place to cook it, we could eat in comfort." :He kept his smile as friendly as he could but secretly he hoped that perhaps he would get lucky for the first time. Knowing his luck, however, all they would do is sit and talk and eat the fish. :"I hope the taste of fish doesn't clash with the smell of pork," he added. "My house includes a butcher shop and there's a pig ranch nearby, though there are only two pigs there at the moment." Lyrabeecher :Suddenly, Lyra felt wary. As pleasant as it had been to have someone to chat with while she fished and as friendly as Enferen was in his offer, Lyra was not prepared to trust enough to voluntarily go to enclosed private quarters alone with any man. :Instead of facing the situation directly, however, she attempted to step around the issue by saying, "I've become accustomed to dining outdoors as I have mostly been camping out as I've traveled. Besides, I think I shan't be staying long, after the meal I think I need to be getting back on the road. I still very much want to find my parents." :Then, avoiding Enferen's gaze, Lyra proceeded with building her campfire to cook the fish. Enferen :Enferen was disappointed, but could not argue the point. Lyra had already stated she wished to find the whereabouts of her parents and if there was nothing in Liverpool that could help her, with such an important quest she would have to move on. :A pity. She's so pretty... :Letting out a restrained sigh, he stooped down to where the wood was piled. :"I suppose you must be eager to find them," he said plainly as he helped put sticks onto the flame. "It's just strange. I've never seen someone up and start building a fire to cook their food right on the spot like this. The only outdoors dining I've heard of involved festivals something of the like." :Then he smiled. "Although it might be interesting eating like this. I wonder what anyone else would say if they saw us..." He looked up and around but did not see a single soul nearby. The town had indeed become quiet with some of the more prominent citizens out of town. He sighed again. "We should indeed make the best of it. After all, this meal may be the last we'll see of each other for... a while..." :He happened to look up at her face just then and saw that her eyes still seemed to be avoiding his. This made him wonder if maybe something he said had the wrong effect somehow. Lyrabeecher :"Hmm," Lyra began thoughtfully, "I have never been to a festival so I don't know about that. I just know that I enjoy being outside. It makes me feel..." Lyra paused while she thought of the right word, "...free." :Not long later, Lyra had managed to get a nice little cookfire going and had finished cooking the fish. Pulling a couple of small metal plates from her pack, she served out two portions. Then, not wanting to appear ungrateful for his help and conversation, Lyra offered one to Enferen with a smile. "I hope you enjoy my little fish picnic." Enferen :Enferen accepted the offered plate witha smile and thanks. In truth, he had put himself on a diet recently and had only eaten a single vegetable today, so he was indeed still hungry. And the fish looked appetizing. :He smelled the air above the fish, taking in the scent. Despite living in a town where fish was plentiful, he still enjoyed the scent of the sea and its bounty, even if it wasn't actually a sea. :"Yes, I think I shall enjoy this..." he commented absently. :As he was about to take a bite he looked at Lyra again and asked, "Might I ask where you will be heading next? Do you have any leads at all to your parents?" Lyrabeecher :As they sat and ate the fish, Lyra said, "I have very little specific information to go on for finding my parents. I was very young when I was taken from them and what little memories that I have are really more like feelings. I'd had a feeling that I should first travel south in my search. If that proves fruitless, I shall go back north again." Lyra shrugged slightly and seemed to be deep in thought for a while as she ate. :Finishing her meal, she said, "I imagine that I'll be coming back through Liverpool someday. Perhaps I'll have more stories to tell when I do." :Once Enferen was also finished eating, Lyra gathered the plates, cook pan and knife and washed them at the water's edge. She repacked her belongings then turned to Enferen and said, "It has been pleasant visiting with you. I need to be pushing onward and continuing my journey now. May Jah watch over you." Category:Histories